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Trump foe Avenatti to face embezzlement charge in Los Angeles court

April 1, 2019

FILE PHOTO: Lawyer Michael Avenatti walks out of federal court in New York
FILE PHOTO: Lawyer Michael Avenatti walks out of federal court in New York, New York, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

April 1, 2019

(Reuters) – Attorney Michael Avenatti, who represented adult film star Stormy Daniels in her legal battles with U.S. President Donald Trump, is set to appear in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday to face embezzlement and fraud charges.

Avenatti also faces separate charges in New York in what prosecutors called a bid to “shake down” Nike Inc for more than $20 million.

Avenatti, 48, was arrested on March 25 after two separate indictments by federal courts in Los Angeles and New York that charged him with the Nike scheme as well as embezzlement and fraud over accusations he misused a client’s money.

Avenatti has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence of all charges.

In the Los Angeles case, prosecutors have accused Avenatti of misusing a client’s $1.6 million settlement to pay for his own expenses and also expenses related to his coffee business.

He is also accused of defrauding a Mississippi bank of $4.1 million in loans by submitting false tax returns inflating his income for 2011 to 2013.

In New York, prosecutors said Avenatti and a co-conspirator, whom they did not name, met Nike’s attorneys on March 19 and told them they represented a former college basketball coach with information about Nike’s involvement in a scheme to bribe high school basketball players.

They threatened to go public unless Nike hired Avenatti to conduct an internal investigation for $15 million to $25 million, and paid an additional $1.5 million to the client, according to prosecutors.

Avenatti also offered to accept a $22.5 million payment for his silence, prosecutors said.

Avenatti faces up to 30 years in prison on the most serious charge in California and up to 20 years for the top charge in New York.

(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Source: OANN

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Shares of Lululemon soar as its deft moves into menswear challenge Nike, Adidas

March 28, 2019

Clothes are displayed in a Lululemon Athletica retail store in New York
Clothes are displayed in a Lululemon Athletica retail store in New York, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

March 28, 2019

By Arundhati Sarkar and Uday Sampath Kumar

(Reuters) – Shares of yoga-pants specialists Lululemon Athletica Inc surged 20 percent on Thursday, with several Wall Street analysts raising their price targets for the company after a blockbuster fourth quarter.

Wednesday’s results showed the Vancouver-based athleisure wear maker moving strongly into menswear, improving online sales and potentially challenging bigger rival Nike Inc on its home turf.

Its success in North America, which contributes close to 90 percent of its business, stood out in a quarter where Nike, which introduced yogawear at the end of last year, fell short of Wall Street estimates for U.S. sales the first time in a year.

Shares of the company climbed 20 percent to $167.60 in early trade.

“There’s a lot of runway for us to continue to grow our men’s business,” Chief Operating Officer Stuart Haselden said in a post earnings conference call with analysts.

“We really believe that Lululemon can be a dual-gender brand, and that our men’s business can ultimately be as big as our women’s.”

Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy firm Metaforce, said that Lululemon’s expansion into menswear and fitness will add to headaches for Nike and Adidas, already in a brutal war over market share in their core markets.

“They play in the same neighborhood but not on the same block,” he said. “Lululemon has one foot in the fashion world and one foot in athletics while Nike has both feet in athletics.”

Adamson said Lululemon could pose more of a threat to Nike in newer markets like China where consumers’ definitions of the circumstances in which they can wear fitness, athletics and sports clothing are shifting quickly.

Lululemon forecast a strong 2019, said North America was doing well and reported a 37 percent jump in direct-to-consumer net revenue for the three months ended Feb. 3.

At least 11 brokerages have raised their price targets on Lululemon’s stock, with Stifel raising it the most by $35 to $187. JP Morgan held the highest target price of $197.

“We expect Lululemon to continue to rise above others who sell active wear, through targeted and nuanced customer engagement both online and in stores,” Susquehanna analyst Sam Poser said.

(Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar and Uday Sampath Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: OANN

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Prosecutors Say Avenatti Wanted in on NY Sex-Slave Case

March 27, 2019

An already bizarre case accusing a secretive self-help group in upstate New York of engaging in sex-trafficking took another strange turn Wednesday thanks to firebrand attorney Michael Avenatti and a courtroom scene caused by a wealthy defendant he's tried to represent.

At a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, prosecutors confirmed that Avenatti appeared on behalf of liquor fortune heiress Clare Bronfman at a closed-door meeting last week that also included Mark Geragos, another high-profile lawyer representing Bronfman.

When U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis asked Geragos whether he and Avenatti had told prosecutors Avenatti was being brought into the case, he responded, "That's exactly what happened."

The revelation came only two days after Avenatti, the lawyer best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels, was arrested on charges accusing him of trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike. He wasn't in court Wednesday and didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Geragos has been linked to the Nike case by reports naming him as the unidentified co-conspirator mentioned in court papers. Asked outside court Wednesday if he was cooperating in the case, he said no, but declined comment on whether he was the alleged co-conspirator.

Bronfman, a daughter of the late billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr., has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing her of bank-rolling a cult-like organization that brainwashed and branded women who served as sex slaves for its spiritual leader.

Under stern questioning by the judge Wednesday about which lawyers are actually representing her and whether she knew if Geragos was involved in the Nike case, Bronfman turned pale, staggered away from the bench and collapsed into a chair. An ambulance was called, but she later left the courthouse on the arm of Geragos.

The judge adjourned the hearing but told lawyers Bronfman would need to come back to court Thursday to give some answers.

"You're going to tell me who the lawyers are," he said. "You're going to tell me when they were retained."

Source: NewsMax America

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Mark Geragos Blasts CNN After Firing: 'Lame-Ass Organization'

March 27, 2019

Attorney Mark Geragos on Tuesday slammed CNN, the network he worked for as a legal analyst until Monday, calling it "that lame-ass organization."

Geragos was named as a co-conspirator in an alleged scheme to extort up to $25 million from Nike. Attorney Michael Avenatti was arrested and charged in the case early Monday afternoon.

Geragos appeared on "The Adam Carolla Show" Tuesday and had some choice words for his former employer.

"They ought to change their name to the 'Cut and Run Network.' I've been texted by all of their anchors who are as outraged as I am that after 20 years, a press conference is enough to have them immediately want to disassociate themselves," he said.

"And God forbid that I start telling some of the stories about how I've covered for that lame-ass organization."

Mediaite posted a clip of Geragos's appearance.

After it was pointed out that CNN waited mere hours to fire Geragos after the Avenatti news came out, Geragos continued his verbal assault.

"They know nothing. They know nothing. Maybe that's a better — call it CNN's a know nothing network," he said.

Geragos has not been charged with any crime related to the alleged extortion scheme.

Source: NewsMax America

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Remember–Dems Peddled Avenatti's Kavanaugh Smears

March 27, 2019

As they race to distance themselves from Michael Avenatti, who was arrested this week and charged with trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike, it’s worth taking a moment to remember that during the the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation fight, leading Democrats peddled absurd attacks from the…

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Avenatti says ‘nervous’ about prison time but proclaims innocence

March 26, 2019

Lawyer Michael Avenatti speaks to the media after he walks out of federal court in New York
Lawyer Michael Avenatti speaks to the media after he walks out of federal court in New York, New York, U.S., March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

March 26, 2019

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Michael Avenatti on Tuesday again proclaimed his innocence on charges he tried to extort millions of dollars from Nike Inc, but in an interview with CBS, admitted he was concerned about doing prison time.

Avenatti, 48, was arrested on Monday following two separate indictments, handed down in federal courts in Los Angeles and New York, that charged him with the alleged Nike scheme as well as embezzlement and fraud over accusations he misused a client’s money.

CBS News on Tuesday released an excerpt of an interview it conducted with Avenatti in which he said he was worried about the possibility of going to prison for decades.

“Sure I’m nervous, I’m scared. I’m all those things. And if I wasn’t, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense,” Avenatti said in the brief clip released by CBS on Tuesday.

Avenatti, in a series of tweets earlier on Tuesday, lashed out at Nike and insisted he was innocent.

“I am anxious for people to see what really happened,” the flamboyant attorney known for representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels, said in one tweet. “We never attempted to extort Nike & when the evidence is disclosed, the public will learn the truth about Nike’s crime & cover-up.”

Nike said in a written statement the company “will not be extorted,” and that it had immediately alerted investigators to the plot.

According to the criminal complaint, Avenatti told Nike he would go public unless it paid his client $1.5 million and hired him and another lawyer to conduct an internal investigation of the company for between $15 million and $25 million.

The charges were announced on Monday shortly after Avenatti said on Twitter he would hold a news conference to reveal “a major high school/college basketball scandal” reaching “the highest levels of Nike.”

Avenatti faces up to 30 years in prison on the most serious charge in California and up to 20 years for the top charge in New York.

He faces separate charges in a Los Angeles federal court on April 1, accusing the high-profile lawyer of misusing a client’s $1.6 million settlement to pay his own expenses as well as those for his coffee business. He was also charged with defrauding a Mississippi bank of $4.1 million.

Avenatti has gained international notoriety for representing Daniels, the 40-year-old porn star whom Trump is accused of paying off during the 2016 presidential campaign to keep quiet about an alleged affair.

Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, editing by G Crosse)

Source: OANN

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Avenatti’s accusations could widen college hoops scandal

March 26, 2019

FILE PHOTO: Lawyer Michael Avenatti walks out of federal court in New York
FILE PHOTO: Lawyer Michael Avenatti walks out of federal court in New York, New York, U.S., March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

March 26, 2019

Several high-profile college basketball programs likely are keeping a close eye on the next moves from lawyer Michael Avenatti, charged Monday with trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike.

Federal prosecutors in California and New York allege that Avenatti threatened to expose misconduct by Nike employees regarding NCAA rules violations involving a Nike-sponsored AAU team.

Monday’s charges came less than an hour after Avenatti tweeted: “This criminal conduct reaches the highest levels of Nike and involves some of the biggest names in college basketball.”

After being released on a $300,000 bond, he resumed attacks on Twitter on Tuesday, mentioning two players by name — former Arizona center Deandre Ayton and currently injured Oregon big man Bol Bol — as having received money from Nike while they were recruits.

The federal complaint against Avenatti said that the lawyer’s client “had a sponsorship agreement with Nike pursuant to which Nike paid the AAU program approximately $72,000 annually.”

Sources told ESPN that the client is Gary Franklin, coach of the California Supreme program in Los Angeles.

Franklin has coached several current NBA players, including 2018 No. 1 pick Ayton, De’Anthony Melton (USC), Solomon Hill (Arizona) and Aaron Holiday (UCLA). Other alums from the California Supreme include Bol, who will enter the draft after his freshman season was cut short due to a foot injury, and UCLA’s Shareef O’Neal, the son of Shaquille O’Neal.

A U.S. attorney’s office spokesperson told ESPN that Avenatti’s allegations about Nike’s possible involvement in the college basketball recruiting scandal are being looked at. “Our investigation is continuing,” the spokesperson said.

Avenatti’s claims of NCAA violations come while Nike is wrapped up in an FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball involving bribery, financial advisors and major apparel sponsors such as Nike and Adidas.

Four former assistant coaches — Auburn’s Chuck Person, Southern California’s Tony Bland, Arizona’s Emanuel “Book” Richardson and Oklahoma State’s Lamont Evans — have pleaded guilty to crimes uncovered in the investigation and are awaiting sentencing.

While awaiting other potential claims by Avenatti, the college basketball world is bracing for the next federal basketball corruption trial, set to begin April 22. Arizona coach Sean Miller and LSU coach Will Wade reportedly have received subpoenas to testify.

LSU recently suspended Wade after reports that he was heard talking on a federal wiretap to Christian Dawkins, a middleman for agents, about an illegal payment to a recruit. Dawkins was found guilty of felony fraud charges last fall.

Dawkins, Adidas director of global marketing James Gatto and Adidas consultant and basketball organizer Merl Code were found guilty on wire fraud and conspiracy charges in October. They are defendants in next month’s trial, facing bribery charges relating to the payment of coaches.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Report: Avenatti Name-Dropped Trump, R. Kelly in Extortion Squeeze

March 25, 2019

Lawyer Michael Avenatti named-dropped President Donald Trump and R. Kelly — two of his most high-profile legal adversaries — during an alleged $20 million extortion of Nike, the New York Post reported.

Citing court papers filed Monday, the Post reported two Nike lawyers working with federal authorities secretly recorded Avenatti demanding a $12 million “retainer” to stay quiet about claims that Nike made illegal payments to high school athletes.

Avenatti also allegedly said he and an alleged co-conspirator — identified by the Wall Street Journal as celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos — would need as much as $25 million to do an “internal investigation” for Nike.

Avenatti allegedly told the Nike lawyers he’d hold a news conference if his demands weren’t met, adding that “as soon as this becomes public, I am going to receive calls from all over the country from parents and coaches and friends and all kinds of people.”

“Ninety percent of that is going to be bulls–t because it’s always bulls–t 90 percent of the time, always, whether it’s R. Kelly or Trump, the list goes on and on — but 10 percent of it is actually going to be true, and then what’s going to happen is this is going to snowball,” he allegedly warned.

Avenatti turned himself into a household name through his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels over her claims of an affair with Trump. He’s also represented several clients tied to the sex abuse allegations case against Kelly.

Source: NewsMax America

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U.S. lawyer Michael Avenatti arrested in Nike extortion scam: prosecutors

March 25, 2019

FILE PHOTO: Attorney Michael Avenatti speaks in Chicago
FILE PHOTO: Attorney Michael Avenatti speaks to the media members at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse after R. Kelly was ordered held on a $1 million bond in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., February 23, 2019. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski

March 25, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Attorney Michael Avenatti, who represented adult film star Stormy Daniels in her legal battles against U.S. President Donald Trump, was arrested on Monday and charged with extorting more than $20 million from Nike, federal prosecutors said.

The U.S. Attorneys offices in New York and Los Angeles separately filed charges against Avenatti, with the California case accusing him of embezzling a client’s money to cover his own debts, as well as using phony tax returns to obtain millions of dollars in loans from a bank.

Avenatti threatened to expose allegations of misconduct from Nike employees unless the apparel company paid him and an unnamed co-conspirator $22.5 million to “buy Avenatti’s silence,” the New York complaint said.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone)

Source: OANN

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Avenatti Arrested, Accused of $20 Million Extortion Attempt Against Nike

March 25, 2019

Michael Avenatti, the attorney who rose to fame for representing Stormy Daniels, was arrested on federal charges Monday related to an alleged $20 million extortion of the athletic company Nike as well as charges from a separate case, according to federal authorities.

Interestingly, the charges were revealed not long after Avenatti said he was holding a press conference to “disclose” a “basketball scandal perpetrated by Nike,” according to this tweet:

Now federal authorities say they will hold a press conference related to the charges on Monday afternoon.

According to a criminal complaint filed in New York, Avenatti is accused of devising “a scheme to extort a company by means of an interstate communication by threatening to damage the company’s reputation if the company did not agree to make multi-million dollar payments to Avenatti and [co-conspirator], and further agree to pay an additional $1.5 million to a client of Avenatti’s.”

Federal authorities also claimed Avenatti and a cooperating witness spoke by phone with lawyers for Nike “during which Avenatti stated, with respect to his demands for payment of milions of dollars, that if those demands were not met ‘I’ll go take ten billion dollars off your client’s market cap… I’m not f—ing around.’”

In a separate case filed in California, Avenatti is accused of “negotiating a settlement which called for $1.6 million in settlement money to be paid on January 10, 2018, but then gave the client a bogus settlement agreement with a false payment date of March 10, 2018,” according to CBS Los Angeles.

Avenatti has not yet responded to these accusations at the time of this writing.

This is the video you’ve all been waiting for: Joe Rogan and Alex Jones AGAIN, but this time in Austin, Texas.

Source: InfoWars

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